Want to start investing but don't know where

Fort Lauderdale, Florida
General Real Estate Investing
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Want to start investing but don't know where

Marco Schoett
Member since 2023 · 2 posts · 0 votes

Just for a little back ground, Im a 24 year old fireman in South Florida. I live with my Mom at the moment with my girlfriend and this has been awesome for us, we have been able to save money and get along well. I was originally saving to buy a home and have a decent down payment that I'm still building but with the massive spike in the market down here since the beginning of Covid, buying the home we would want has slipped out of reach. 

This inspired me to start looking into real estate investing, which is something I have always wanted to do. I have been educating myself through books, podcasts and talking to people that I know who own LTR's. I don't have a problem staying with my mom for a little longer and figured with my time off as a firefighter and the money I saved up it would be a perfect opportunity to begin investing. 

My questions are:

A. It seems as if the rental market in South Florida is extremely saturated and hard to get into, does anyone have any information that could confirm or deny this?

B. If that is the case what are some interesting markets to look into or what is the best way to find them.

C. Any helpful tips or mistakes to avoid for someone in my position?

Thank you for all the help in advance!

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Dwayne Byrd
Real Estate Broker · Palm Bay, FL · Member since 2017 · 175 posts · 89 votes
3y

You have to "Just do something" and not stand on the sideline because markets are "saturated". A saturated market would seem that you would have an abundance of opportunity. Everyone needs somewhere to live and rest their head at the end of the day. A saturated market means that there are a lot of people doing it right and some doing it wrong. Figure out what works for your area ect. There is a wealth of opportunity up here in Central Florida. You do have something awesome going for you in that you can live with parents and save up cash while working a w2 job! That is great grounds to getting your foothold on a first property! With you luck! 

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  • Eliott Elias
    Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 9k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    3y

    Why do you say it is saturated and hard to get in to? 

    Why do you want a easy market? The markets that are tough have the most demand. 

    There are 1000's of mistakes you are going to have to make and learn on your own. 

    0Reply
  • Dwayne Byrd
    Real Estate Broker · Palm Bay, FL · Member since 2017 · 175 posts · 89 votes
    3y

    You have to "Just do something" and not stand on the sideline because markets are "saturated". A saturated market would seem that you would have an abundance of opportunity. Everyone needs somewhere to live and rest their head at the end of the day. A saturated market means that there are a lot of people doing it right and some doing it wrong. Figure out what works for your area ect. There is a wealth of opportunity up here in Central Florida. You do have something awesome going for you in that you can live with parents and save up cash while working a w2 job! That is great grounds to getting your foothold on a first property! With you luck! 

    1Reply
  • Adam Schooley
    Real Estate Agent · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2015 · 175 posts · 79 votes
    3y

    @Marco Schoett please feel free to contact me. I’m a firefighter/paramedic here in South Florida also and have been flipping homes here for years and currently own rental properties here locally. You sound just like a lot of the young guys and girls that I work with at the fire department that are just getting started. I’ll fill you in on what to do when we talk. 

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  • Mark Fein
    Member since 2022 · 91 posts · 38 votes
    3y

    The State of Florida offers down payment/closing cost assistance for first time homebuyers for firefighters.   The program is called Hometown Heroes.  It must be used for a primary residence though and not a rental.   I am a lender in Florida if you want to DM me.

    0Reply
  • Brett Voorhees
    Real Estate Agent · South Florida · Member since 2022 · 85 posts · 42 votes
    3y

    Hey @Marco Schoett, happy to hear everything is working out. This puts you in a really solid position moving forward especially with your career path and some capital saved. 

    I am a realtor in the area and this is what I can say from my experience.

    A. Yes FL does seem to be saturated and in some areas that is 100% true. However, I would with investors all the time and as you know there are many ways to go bout investing and many strategies you can use. So it depends on your end goal ultimately. There are markets that are on fire still and some that are just blown out. I helped an investor in Lauderdale 2 months ago cash out on his property and it was bought by another investor in which they both got a great deal. My seller made a killing on the sale price and the other got a great LTR. So I would say consult with a knowledgeable real estate professional to guide you through this. In short, FL still has so much growing to do.

    B. Good ways to find markets like I said is get in touch with a realtor or look into planning and zoning and see what areas have development going on. Are they building a shopping mall or remodeling one? Are they putting a whole foods where winn dixi used to be? A bowling alley, top golf? These are huge companies that pay people lots of money to locate these sites to put their business where it will succeed. Chances are if whole foods for example is in an 'up and coming' area.. that area will be growing moving forward. I would also double check the year over year increases in property values.

    C. Learn as much as you can, make sure you trust who you work with and ask the right questions. Just like with anything in life, there are some great people out there and there are others who will hustle you to get a check and tell you what you want to hear instead of what you need to hear. You are in this group and educating yourself which is spot on. Keep at it and things will unfold just fine. 


    I also provide monthly market info to my database of clients that you may find helpful since I add in market stats, trending news and investing education. 


    Hope this helps my friend. Feel free to reach out if there is ever anything I can do.

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  • Marco Schoett
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Dwayne Byrd:

    You have to "Just do something" and not stand on the sideline because markets are "saturated". A saturated market would seem that you would have an abundance of opportunity. Everyone needs somewhere to live and rest their head at the end of the day. A saturated market means that there are a lot of people doing it right and some doing it wrong. Figure out what works for your area ect. There is a wealth of opportunity up here in Central Florida. You do have something awesome going for you in that you can live with parents and save up cash while working a w2 job! That is great grounds to getting your foothold on a first property! With you luck! 


     I appreciate the advice. I guess my concern would be more along the lines of is this the best market for cash flow or are there better opportunities out elsewhere that I could capitalize on.

    0Reply
  • Joseph Crunkilton
    Rental Property Investor · Oregon City, OR · Member since 2020 · 324 posts · 780 votes
    3y

    @Marco Schoett I'd recommend connecting with @Zach Lemaster. His team helped me pick up my first few rentals and made the process simple and efficient. It's overwhelming when you're starting out. Hopefully they can help you shorten the learning curve like they did for me. 

    0Reply
  • Robb Silverstein
    Member since 2022 · 24 posts · 29 votes
    3y

    Joseph is it safe to say you work for Zach/that team. . I think you should disclose that. All your posts are about it  

    0Reply
  • Troy P.
    Investor · Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2019 · 184 posts · 167 votes
    3y

    I don't have any helpful advice to add to what others have already provided, but I do want to applaud you for living with family into your early 20s, playing it smart, and saving money to start a comfortable life on your own.  Well done.

    Edit: I do have something to add.  Where ever you end up, look into house hacking.  While you're young and without children/pets (if that is your plan), that is a very common and easy way to get started, and it doesn't always mean multifamily duplex/fourplex.  You can buy a larger home and rent out the bedrooms and common space.  Just make sure you can afford whatever it is with vacancies and all expenses considered.  Good luck!

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  • Dave Skow
    Lender · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 899 votes
    3y

    @Marco Schoett- thanks for the outline - a good first step will be to get  a loan pre approval  in place  ..the process is free and  easy and  it sould help get you  educated  and  organized  for  making more decsions  

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